earlier the president told the business round table a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff could be reached quickly if republicans drop their opposition to raising tax rates on the wealthy. in an interview on cnbc, timothy geithner says the gop is making a little bit of progress, but the white house is absolutely ready to go over the cliff if tax rates on the top 2% don't rise. >> i want to understand the administration's position when it comes to raising taxes on the wealthy, those making more than $250,000. if republicans do not agree to that, is the administration prepared to go over the fiscal cliff? >> absolutely. again, there is no prospect to an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up on the top 2% of the wealthiest. remember, it's only 2%. >> with both sides in washington publicly digging in their heels, how much will the fiscal cliff impact the credit markets? ben garber joins us for more. ben, good morning. clearly we're focused on the down side risk from the budget standoff and then there's beyond that. let's talk about the short term at the moment. what impact is tha